Murder just a hobby for this man

Paul Duffy was peddling home improvement products in 2006 when he knocked on the door of a young Hopkinton couple. The husband answered, and Duffy made his pitch before the man politely said he wasn’t interested.

A week later, this same man made headlines for the fatal shooting of his wife and 9-month-old daughter. His name was Neil Entwistle, and Duffy wrote to him after his conviction. “I asked if he remembered me,” Duffy said. “I got a letter back. He said he didn’t, but that’s OK. He probably had a lot on his mind at the time.”

These days, Duffy is consumed with what Entwistle and other killers have on their minds when they murder. It’s the reason he writes to serial killers. It’s also the reason he peddles a product many consider ghoulish and off limits — murderabilia.

Looking for Charles Manson’s prison ID? Duffy has that. Interested in a drawing by priest killer Joseph Druce? Duffy has that, too. The macabre merchandise can be found on his Facebook page, where he recently announced he’s “slashed prices” on many items, although he claimed he didn’t use the term deliberately.

The fast-talking Worcester native, 23, operates his business from Coatesville, Pa., where he’s attracted criticism from victim advocates who have tried to shut down his Facebook page because they don’t believe he should profit from tragedy. In 2001, eBay banned similar sales.

Last week, however, a Facebook spokesman said Duffy’s page, “Wholesale Murder,” doesn’t violate any Facebook policy. Besides, said Duffy, the media and Hollywood also profit from murder.

“I believe in free markets and constitutional rights,” he said. “I don’t condone what killers do — I think it’s sick. But I want to learn about why they do it.”

His interest in true crime started at age 12, when he read “Helter Skelter,” the account of the Manson murders. It was later whetted by his brief meeting with Entwistle, along with his own jail experience and the murder of one of his friends.

Growing up here, Duffy got hooked on drugs and was expelled from South High School. In 2007 he served a brief stint in the House of Correction for assault and battery. In 2010, his friend Kevin J. Shavies Jr. was fatally shot in Crompton Park. Asked if he would collect murderabilia from his friend’s killer, Duffy said, “Personally I wouldn’t, but I wouldn’t be upset if someone else did.”

Duffy said he has cleaned up his act and now shares a home with a presumably tolerant girlfriend in Coatesville, where he holds a “normal” job for a home improvement company. And although he peddles murderabilia, his real hobby is collecting the mementos, which he buys from other dealers and keeps for his own, er, enjoyment. He also writes to “50 or so” serial killers each week, and while 70 percent write back, he rarely sells their letters.

“I don’t like to reveal their personal information,” he explained.

Among his most valuable murderabilia is Manson’s prison ID, which is worth about $1,400. He has a letter from notorious serial killer Gary Michael Heidnik, who tortured and raped six women in his Philadelphia basement. He has a college announcement from the 1800s that lists the name of H.H. Holmes, known as America’s first serial killer, and a letter from cannibal short order cook Nathaniel Bar Jonah that lists some of his favorite recipes (“Just normal ones,” Duffy noted).

Artwork is his favorite collectible. And while he’s not above collecting the occasional hair, blood and fingernail clippings, he draws the line at crime scene photos. Apparently even murderabiliasts have their limits.

“Some people don’t like me because of what I do,” he said. “But I still consider myself a good person.”

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